This invention relates to the field of spray guns, particularly, hand held spray guns suitable for spraying paint and similar coatings. Prior art spray guns relied upon user judgment to position the gun with respect to a target surface to be painted. Typically, user manuals advised the user to hold the gun such that a central axis of the spray pattern remains perpendicular to and at a constant distance from the target surface to be sprayed. The vast majority of target surfaces to be sprayed are at least generally planar. Varying the distance between the spray gun and the target surface ordinarily results in uneven coverage and may result in some regions having less than full coverage, while other regions receive excess sprayed material, which may result in sags and or runs.
The present invention provides an aid to a user in maintaining the proper distance between the spray gun and the target surface by providing a range finder with the spray gun to provide the user with information regarding the distance between the gun and the target surface.